Volunteer hit by £2,000 tax bill

Paul Wilson is angry at receiving the tax bill

A volunteer ambulance car driver is facing a £2,000 tax bill for mileage claimed for unpaid work.

Paul Wilson, from Lifton, Devon, has given 30 to 40 hours each week for four years to be a driver for the Westcountry Ambulance Service.

The work he does is unpaid, but Mr Wilson gets a mileage allowance which is tax free up to 12,000 miles a year.

But now he has had a demand for £2,000 for his remaining mileage, up to 30,000 miles a year for the past three years.

The Inland Revenue claim his mileage allowance was actually profit, though Mr Wilson says his mileage expenses barely cover running costs.

If the government insists on taxing people who often give 30 to 40 hours of their time each week, then many will probably not continue Paul Wilson

The Ambulance Service has 240 volunteer car drivers who take nearly 367,000 patients a year, 40% of the total non-urgent appointments at hospitals in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset.

The Service offers a mileage rate of 37.5p per mile.

Mr Wilson, who often ferries passengers to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, said many drivers, a large of proportion of whom were retired, often averaged up to 27,000 miles annually while volunteering.

He said many were not aware they may be liable to tax on voluntary hours worked.

'Invaluable contribution'

This could mean drivers facing tax demands of more then £400 per year for the 15,000 miles over the taxable limit.

He said: "If the government insists on taxing people who often give 30 to 40 hours of their time each week, then many will probably not continue."

Fellow volunteer driver Derek Cole said: "If we're prepared to give our time voluntarily, I don't see why this government should try and claw something back when we're giving our time for the community."

The Inland Revenue said: "No volunteer driver will be taxed unless they make a profit from their work, ie: if the allowances they receive are more than the expenses they have incurred."

The Westcountry Ambulance Service said of its volunteer drivers: "Their invaluable contribution to the community ensures that ambulances are kept free for more serious cases."

However, it added it was making all its volunteers aware of the tax regulations.